Traffic gate



June 7, 1927 llmie 4E. E. HOWARD A TRAFFiG GATE A'TTGRNEY 2 Sheet INVENTOR wf/www4 siii JMW June 7, 1927. y 1,631,416

E. E. HOWARD Y TRAFFIC `GATE Filed March 20. 1926 2 sheets-snee"v 2 n lATTORNEY n l INVENTOR Patented June 7, 1927. l'

TRAFIC- GATE.

Application inea March 20, .1926. seriai n. 96,351.

l i Myinveiition l'rel-testoaftratic gatejand desiredv to interrupt traiic barrier, vthemore v particularly to one for use on roadways leading to movable bridgesor railroad crossings, or. at any other location where y it is Figlis a perspective view of a-gate eini bo'dying my improvements, illustrating its use on a bridge or viaduct.

Fig.2 is a horizontal section on the line 2 2,y Fig. i.

Fig. 3 's an enlarged, detail perspective View Vo f the socket members of the gate mountingin spaced i'elation.

Fig. 4L is a detail view-of a double gate, illustrating an arrangement whereby the membersat'the Voncoming, sides of the roadwayare locked by themembersat the offg'oing sides to stop the oncoming traffic while theothei` gates are free to move to release `the oif oingtrafic *ig 5 is a vertical section ofthe gate mounting, a part of the post being broken away for better illustration.

Fig. Gis a longitudin l, vertical section of l the free end of agate, `particularly illustrating the motor driye'inechanism, 1

Fig. 7 is a v,vertical section onQt-he line Referring more indetail to the. drawings, l designates ya roadway .and 2 a sidewalk constituting portions ofa bridge or viaduct orof an approach thereto, or to a railroad crossing or other intersection to the roadway. Mounted at one side of the roadway, pref- -erably on Ithe sidewalk 2, is a post 3,'preferably tubular and having a plug 4 at the top, comprising a spherical bearing `boss 5 terminating slightly y-below the top lineof `the gate.

.The gate. itself is preferably composed of structural steel to provide a strong, sightly structure, comprising ltop yand bottom rails i 61and7-` of a lengthsuicient to, constitute roadway and sidewalk'sections; the post 3 separating the roadway vand sidewallrsections, and having itsV upper portion housed Vwithin the box walls 89 githesph'ericalv boss at the top of the post seating within the c on-`r caved recess l0 in the bottom of 11 hxedto the toprail` between the boxl walls, to pivotallyfsupport the gate in conjunction with theground bearingpreseiitly described. y .y l y* f5 The bottoni rail is provided with an elliptical slot l2 lthrough 4which the bearing post projects, so v,thatthe gate may have a limited tipping movement on-it s` universal v Transverse plates 13, la', forming part of the post l5 at the free end of the roadway sect-ion, extend below the bottom rail, and arevprovided with bearing apertures 16, and fixed to the outer face of said plates, by rivets or-thelile 17, are bearing members 181 Extending kthrough the plate aperturesand jpouinalled in the bearings 18 is a shaftl9, held against longitudinal displacement by washers 20 and having xed there-t0, between thejplat'es,a ground wheel 21- ,liaving ajrough, gioundfgripping tread. Rigidly `connected sov withor formedfintegrally with the ground wheelY is a vpinion 22, constantly meshing with an annular gear 23 fixed on a shaftf2l,`

journalled lin bearings 25,;attached toV the -i inner faces of the plates 13, 14,constituting portions of the post l5. The shaft 2 4, extends' into'ia gear reduction housing 26,

reduction mechanism', not shown vbut ,indicated by the vhousing' 26, lwith a-'shaft 27 coupled at 28 with the shaft 29 of a motor 3 0, vprovidedE with an automatic vbrake 31 adapted for stopping the motor at eachlimit of travel of the gate.V f f l The motor and gear reductionmechanisms, with, their connecting parts,l are preferablywhereit is connected by any suitable.. gear i located onftl'ie vbottom `gate rail 7 adjacent the postl, but, obviously-specific location ofthese parts isimmaterial.`v` v The post l'comprises, in addition to'v the 'transverse plates V13 and 14, the longitudinal plates v32, which extend to about the level of the top lineof the ground wheel 121v to house the mechanism as nearly, asfpossible: without interfering'with movement.` of the ground wheel.

`The motor 30, if of electrical type,inayf receive its currentv through the'wire 33 extending'through a cable 3a along the bottom rail to thebearing post,out throughaconduit 35 on said post and within a conduit (not shown) to the operators position, which may be located at some distanceV from the gate, or at any convenient point. v

I also preferably .provide the gate with anaudible alarm, preferably consisting of a bell 36 on the gate post, operable by a suitable vibrating mechanism, in circuit with cated and proportioned as to receive the with the traffic.

ground wheel 2l; a post l2 rising from the edge ofthe pocket to protect the end of the gate whenthe gate is open, and a post 4&3 rising from the sidewalk to protect that end of the gate under similar conditions. I also provide the railing I4 with a shouldered recess d5 for receiving the end of the side-v walk portion of the gate to form a stopfor limiting outward swing of the gate, and with a block d6 for engagement by a switch `47' for stopping the motor as the gate-assumes its closed position.

For narrow roadways one gate is sufficient, :but for wider roadways, or in any location where such construction is desirable, I divide the gate into two sections, each a duplicate of the other, so that they may swing independentlyk but simultaneously to open and close the roadway. I have shown' in the drawings a sectional gate of this kind, one of the sections appearing in its entirety, with its mounting Aand operating' mechanism,

the other section being merely indicated by a portion of the free end of the roadway section. f

Experience has taught that in the use of barriers of this general character, traiiic approaches as near as possible to the gate before stopping; consequently it is practically a. necessity to mount the gate for opening lVith a double gate the same rule may apply for offgoing tralic. As gates of this kind are usually located at some distance from the railroad crossing, or from the movable bridge span, oifgoing trafic may be trapped by the gate. It is desirable that this trapped trafii'c be relieved without permitting oncoming tratlic to pass;

consequently when two gate sections are cmployed I arrange them at an angle as shown in Fig. 1l, so that theI offgoing traiiic section may swing outwardly to relieve the offgoring` traffic, but ino-vement in the opposite direction causing the ends of the sections to 1,631,416 i Y Y bind' aga-inst each other and lock, thereby barring oncoming traiic.

Operation of agate constructed and assembled as described is obvious. The Spherical mounting perinitsturning movement on a vertical axis, and vertical movement to compensate for any unevenness of the roadway and the difference in elevation due to the arch of the road.

By arranging the motor as described, the power is applied directly to the lground wheel, so that when the motor is active the wheel is revolved to carry the gate forward or back under control of the operator at his station, semi-automatic control being providedv for stopping the gate atv the properV points.

It is apparent that when the divided, semi-interlocking gate is employed, oncoming tratlic may be interruptedwhile the oifkgoing tra-flic is permitted to How. f

l'vhat I claim Vand desire to secure by Letters Patent is z-d l. A traiiicv gate comprising a pivotally,

mounted barrica-having a ground wheel at its free end and a motor operatively con neeted with the ground wheelv to rotate the same. v n' 2. A traiiic gate comprising a barrier mounted to swing about a substantially vertical axis near one end thereof, a ground wheel near the other end thereof and a motor operatively connected with to rotate the same.

3. A traiiic gate comprising al pivotally mounted barrier, having a ground wheel at its free end anda motor operatively connected with the ground wheel to' rotate the same, said ground wheel having a gripping surface. u f` 4:. A traflic gate comprisingI a barrier havthe ground Wheel ico ing pivotal vmountingl at one of its ends, a f

ground wheel supporting the opposite end of the barrier, a gear wheel carried'by the groundfwheel, a drivepinion in mesh Ywith the gear wheel and means carried by the gate for operating the pinion.

5. Al traffic gate comprisinga barrierV having pivotal mounting atfone end,`a ground wheell for supporting the other end of the barrier, a gear carried by the ground wheel, a. drive shaft rotatably mounted above the ground wheel, a pinion on the shaft in mesh with' the gear wheel, and a motor operably connected -tothe drive shaft.

6L A traflic gate comprising paired barriers pivotal'ly mounted at opposite sides of a. roadway in a line perpendicular to the roadway, the combined length of the barriers being greater than the width of the roadway, where-by the ends of the vbarriers must contact. as they approach Vsaid lperpendiicul-ary line to lock lthe barriers against continued movement in the direction of said line, supporti-ng ground wheels on said barriers,y and an individual motor on each barrier operaltively connected with the corresponding ground wheel.

7. In a traliic gate, a barrier comprising upper and lower rails,.the lower rail having an elliptical slot with a long axis in the direction of length of the barrier, the upper rail having a downwardly facing socket, av

,attached to the upper rail and having a downwardly facing socket, a post extended through the slot and having a spherical member seating within the socket of the upper rail to pivotally support the barrier,

said block having a central aperture and a horizontal cup having a nozzle seated in mounting.

9. In combination' with a roadway and" vsaid aperture to automatically lubricate thev n l sidewalk, a barrier pivotally mounted adjacent thesidewalk and having a ground wheel at its roadway end movable over the roadway, the sidewalk' having anreeess for 'receive n ing the ground 1Wheel to align thebarrier wththe sidewalk, and a post risingfro'r'n the sidewalk adjacent the saidrecess lfor the purpose set forth.

IO. In combination with a` roadway, ay sidewalk and a rail for the sidewalk, the rail switch shifting surface within the recess, a

pivotally mounted barrierV having roadway and sidewalk sections, the end .of the lsidewalk section movable into and ronithe railing recess, and a motor for operating the barrier. y

In testimony "35 l having a vertical. shouldered recess and a* whereof Iax signature. .f l ERNEST E. HOWARD. y 

